18 months to rescue Labour from oblivion

The new Labour leader must overcome five key challenges to help bring the party back from the brink, writes Michael Brennan.

If Joan Burton, the favourite to win the Labour leadership, prevails in the contest, there is a growing feeling that she has just 18 months to save the party. After Labour lost all its MEPs and more than 80 council seats, one of its TDs said privately during the week that the party was close to being wiped out after a 102-year history. With postal ballots from 3,265 paid-up Labour members due to ...